Etymologically
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tongeo

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈtɔŋ.ɡe.oː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈtɔn̠ʲ.d͡ʒe.o][1]

Forms

tongeō (present infinitive tongēre); second conjugation, no perfect or supine stems[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *tong-eje- (“to know”).[2] De Vaan suggests that it continues an Indo-European present with ⟨-i̯e-⟩ and the o-grade of the root, Proto-Indo-European *tong-ei(e)- (“to think, know”), since its meaning is stative rather than iterative;[2] Wiktionary gives the root as *teng- (“to think”).[1] The ⟨o⟩ stayed before the velar nasal, where it would usually have become ⟨u⟩, because of the preceding dental, as in domus.[2]

Cognate with Oscan tanginom (“opinion, decision”) (accusative),[2][3] Old English ðencan (“to think”), Old High German denchen (“to think”) and Old Norse þekkja (“to understand, know”).[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

It survives only in Festus (in the epitome), who explains it as “to know”, adds that the people of Praeneste call a notion tongitiō, and quotes Ennius: alii rhetorica tongent (“others know rhetoric”).[3][2][4]

Semantic evolution

No other use is recorded; the dictionaries know it only from this gloss of Festus and its quotation of Ennius.[3][4][5] It has no perfect or supine.[1]

Timeline

  • 204–169 BC – Ennius uses the form tongent.[3][6]
  • 2nd half of the 2nd century AD – Festus explains the word.[3][5][6]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To know.[3][4][1]

Word family

  • tongitiō

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  3. ^ a b c d e f Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  5. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  6. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de